Moosewood Creek Primitives Woodwick Candles

By Ryan Miller

While visiting her grandparents’ country home upstate, Virginia Beach resident Angela Surgeon discovered alluring hand-poured candles sold in primitive stores. When she began scouting local shops, she realized that the selection here didn’t hold a candle to the enchanting scents drifting from the homemade versions. So she decided to create her own line of woodwick candles.

After obtaining her business license, she started pouring candles in September 2015 under the brand, Moosewood Creek Primitives, which also features handmade country crafts.

“My grandfather would always say, ‘You was going up a creek,’” Surgeon chuckles, referencing the idiom and a neighborhood street name for the origin behind Moosewood Creek Primitives. “People would always get a kick out of how I would use these euphemisms and things that these country folk would say.”

Surgeon crafts the candles in her kitchen, following her own recipe book to meticulously blend colors for her scented candles and using antique parchment paper to create labels. “It’s about a two-day process from start to finish, down to the coloring,” she tells.

The products were initially made available at craft shows and at the Virginia Beach Farmers Market, where Surgeon is a regular vendor. Her dedication has led her to quit both her jobs to pursue her niche full-time.

Moosewood Creek candles are cleaner and longer burning than many brands. As the flame flickers, the wooden wick emits soft sounds of a crackling fireplace, while the melting wax fills homes with indulgent swirls of hot apple cider, cinnamon rolls, eggnog, hot cocoa, campfires, crisp mountain air, honeysuckle and gingerbread in over 45 nuanced scents in 8- and 16-ounce jars.

With high demand for favorite scents, Surgeon eschews a seasonal selection and instead offers scents for customers to purchase year-round. Best of all, when customers return their candle jars to Moosewood Creek Primitives for credit toward their next purchase (known as a swap and shop) Surgeon reuses the jars to create more candles, keeping both the flame and handcrafted passion burning.

Moosewood Creek Primitives can be found at the Virginia Beach Farmers Market at 3640 Dam Neck Rd., Virginia Beach. Visit MoosewoodCreek.com for more info.